Charging Station

ABSTRACT

A charging station is provided, having an AC outlet, a USB outlet, and a wireless charging circuit, with an internal fluid control chamber surrounding a lower portion of the AC outlet, such that substantially all fluid entering the charging station via the AC outlet is initially retained within the fluid control chamber and subsequently exits the charging station via a drain aperture.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates generally to charging stations and, morespecifically, to charging stations with additional functions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Charging stations enable portable and other devices to be recharged.Some charging stations are large enough to physically support one ormore devices being charged. The space occupied by such charging stationsmay significantly reduce the amount of space available on a desk, sidetable, or other horizontal surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a one aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided a charging station that includes an alternating current (AC)outlet, a USB outlet, and a wireless charging circuit. The AC outlet islocated in a top side of the charging station, and the USB outlet islocated in a second side of the charging station. The wireless chargingcircuit is configured to sense the presence of an electronic deviceplaced in proximity to the top side of the charging station andwirelessly charge the electronic device. The charging station furtherincludes an internal fluid control chamber located beneath the ACoutlet, where the chamber includes one or more walls extending up from abottom side of the charging station. The charging station also includesa drain aperture in the bottom side of the charging station, where thedrain aperture is surrounded by the walls. A body of the AC outletextends from the top side of the charging station into the fluid controlchamber and, when fluid is introduced into the AC outlet, substantiallyall fluid exiting the AC outlet is retained within the fluid controlchamber and exits the charging station via the drain aperture.

Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in theart from the following figures, descriptions and claims.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” aswell as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term“or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and“associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean toinclude, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be containedwithin, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with,cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to orwith, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller”means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least oneoperation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware orsoftware, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should benoted that the functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout thispatent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, aswell as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 presents an isometric view of a charging station according to afirst embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 presents an internal view of components of the charging stationof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 presents an isometric view of the charging station of FIG. 1 inuse;

FIG. 4 presents a sectional view of the charging station of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 presents an isometric view of a charging station according to asecond embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 6 presents an isometric view of a charging station according to athird embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 6, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged apparatus for a charging stationwith fluid control chambers.

The present disclosure relates to a charging station providing an ACoutlet, a USB outlet, and a wireless charging circuit, with an internalfluid control chamber surrounding a lower portion of the AC outlet, suchthat substantially all fluid entering the charging station via the ACoutlet is initially retained within the fluid control chamber andsubsequently exits the charging station via a drain aperture.

FIG. 1 presents an isometric view of a charging station 100 according toa first embodiment of the disclosure. The station 100 includes a powercable and standard plug (not visible in FIG. 1) for connection to analternating current (AC) outlet to provide electrical power to thestation 100. A top face of the station 100 includes AC outlets 102electrically coupled to the power cable, the outlets operable to provideAC electrical power to external devices for charging or operation orboth. While the AC outlets 102 shown in FIG. 1 are standard outlets fornominal 120 volt operation, it will be understood that, in otherembodiments, AC outlets 102 may be standard outlets for nominal 240 voltoperation or a mixture of AC outlets of different types. In someembodiments, the AC outlets 102 are tamper-resistant outlets, havingfeatures that block the insertion of anything other than a properlyconfigured AC plug into the openings of the outlet.

A first side face of the charging station 100 includes first UniversalSerial Bus (USB) outlets 104. A second side face of the station 100 (notvisible in FIG. 1) includes second USB outlets 104. In some embodiments,one or both of the USB outlets 104 may be USB-C outlets. In otherembodiments, one or more USB outlets may be located on a front side orother side of the station 100.

A wireless charging region 106 of the top face of the station 100 isadapted for wireless charging. In some embodiments, the station 100 isadapted to detect a wireless charging standard used by an externaldevice placed on or near the region 106 and to provide wireless chargingusing the detected standard. Such wireless charging may be providedunder the Qi standard, developed by the Wireless Power Consortium, thePMA standard from the AirFuel Alliance, or other wireless chargingstandard, such that the station 100 provides multi-standard wirelesscharging.

Thus, the charging station 100 may provide charging power to externaldevices simultaneously via one or more of the AC outlets 102, the USBoutlets 104, and the wireless charging circuit associated with thecharging region 106.

FIG. 2 presents an internal view of components of the charging station100 of FIG. 1. The station 100 includes a chassis 202 and an upperhousing 204. A wireless charging control board 206 and associatedwireless charging antenna 208 are mounted in the upper housing 204. Ahigh voltage power supply 210 receives AC power from a wall outlet orother power source and provides surge suppression to the AC outlets 102Aand 102B, as well as to a DC low voltage power supply 212. The powersupply 212 is a switching supply providing surge suppression and 5 volt(V) and/or one or more other voltages (e.g., 12V) to the electroniccircuits of the station 100, as well as to the USB outlets 104.

The charging station 100 may include a plurality of power supplies 212.For example, a first power supply 212 may be electrically coupled to thewireless charging board 206 and provide a preset voltage to the wirelesscharging board 206, based upon a wireless charging standard or powerlevel required by a device being wirelessly charged. In someembodiments, such a preset power output from the first power supply 212is supplied in response to a signal received by the first power supply212 from the wireless charging board 206.

In another example, a second power supply 212 may provide a presetamperage to one or both USB outlets 104, based on a charging powerrequirement of a device electrically connected to the USB outlet 104. Insome embodiments, the second power supply 212 directly senses thecharging power requirement of the connected device and adjusts itsoutput accordingly.

The chassis 202 also includes fluid control chambers 402A and 402B whichprovide spill-through capability for liquids entering the chargingstation 100 through the associated AC outlets 102A and 102B. Bodies ofthe AC outlets 102A and 102B extend from a top portion of the upperhousing 204 into the fluid control chambers 402A and 402B, respectively.The spill-through function of chambers 402A and 402B is described ingreater detail below, with reference to FIG. 4.

In some embodiments, the chassis 202 further includes a display 214 thatmay be viewed through a translucent portion 216 of the upper housing204. In other embodiments, the display 214 may be viewed directly orthrough a lens. The display 214 is described in greater detail below,with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 3 presents an isometric view of the charging station 100 of FIG. 1in use. When an external device 302 is placed on the wireless chargingregion 106, the wireless charging control board 206 may use the wirelesscharging antenna 208 to detect a wireless charging standard used by thedevice 302. In some embodiments, the detected wireless charging standardmay be one of several possible standards. The control board 206 thenuses the antenna 208 in compliance with the detected standard to chargethe device 302.

While FIG. 3 shows a single device being charged wirelessly by thecharging station 100, it will be understood that multiple devices usingthe same wireless charging standard may be charged simultaneously by acharging station according to the disclosure.

FIG. 4 presents a sectional view of the charging station 100 of FIG. 1.The view is along a horizontal plane passing just above the top edges ofthe walls comprising the fluid control chambers 402A and 402B, indicatedabove with reference to FIG. 2. The walls of the chambers 402A and 402Bextend upward from the chassis 202 and form an unbroken barrier aroundthe chambers 402A and 402B. The bodies of the AC outlets 102A and 102Bextend down from a top portion of the upper housing 204 into thechambers 402A and 402B, respectively. The chambers 402A and 402B preventliquid introduced into the AC outlets 102A and 102B from spreadingwithin the station 100 beyond the chambers 402A and 402B.

The chassis 202 further includes drain apertures 404A and 404Bsurrounded by the walls of the chambers 402A and 402B. The drainapertures 404A and 404B permit liquids entering the chambers 402A and402B to drain out of the station 100. The lower surfaces of the chambers402A and 402B may be formed with a slope to direct liquids toward thedrain apertures 404A and 404B. Thus, liquids spilled into the AC outlets102A and 102B may pass through the station 100 without contactingelectronics or other components within the station 100 other than the ACoutlets 102A and 102B. While a film or residue of spilled liquid mayremain on the walls and/or lower surfaces of the fluid control chambers402A and 402B, substantially all fluid entering the charging station 100via the AC outlets 102A or 102B exits the station 100 via the drainapertures 404A and 404B.

In some embodiments, the walls of the chambers 402A and 402B extend uparound the bottom portions of the AC outlets 102A or 102B to asufficient height to prevent liquid that is exiting horizontally fromthe outlets from passing over the walls and escaping the fluid controlchambers. In other embodiments, the walls are sufficiently high toprevent liquid that is exiting the outlets from splashing in fluid thathas not yet drained through the apertures 404A and 404B and therebypassing over the walls. In still other embodiments, the walls of thechambers 402A and 402B extend upward to meet with one or more surfacesof the upper housing 204, to more fully isolate liquids in the chambersfrom components of the station 100.

FIG. 5 presents an isometric view of a charging station 500 according toa second embodiment of the disclosure. The charging station 500 includeselements associated with a speaker system adapted for wirelessconnectivity to a music player or other external audio source. Thecharging station 500 includes a wireless receiver, electrically coupledto an audio amplifier that is electrically coupled to one or morespeakers 504A and 504B. In some embodiments, the wireless receiver is aBluetooth-compatible receiver. In some embodiments, the wirelessreceiver is further electrically coupled to a so-called “pairing” button502. The wireless receiver and the audio amplifier are furtherelectrically coupled to and receive power from one or both of the highvoltage power supply 210 and the DC low voltage power supply 212.

When a user of the charging station 500 has a wireless external audiosource, the user may operate the external audio source to place it in amode where it is available for pairing with other wireless devices. Ifthe user then activates the pairing button 502, the wireless receiver isadapted to respond by performing a pairing procedure with the externalaudio source. Upon completion of the pairing procedure, the receiverwill be operable to receive audio signals transmitted wirelessly fromthe external audio source and play the received audio signals via theaudio amplifier and the speakers 504A and 504B. The external audiosource may also be recharging from the charging station 500 whiletransmitting wireless audio to the charging station 500.

FIG. 6 presents an isometric view of a charging station 600 according toa third embodiment of the disclosure. The charging station 600 includeselements associated with the display 214, described with reference toFIG. 2. In an embodiment of the disclosure having multi-standardwireless charging functionality, the display 214 may include a chargingdisplay 602, which indicates to a user which wireless charging standardis being used to charge an external device placed on the wirelesscharging region 106. In an embodiment of the disclosure having Bluetoothcapability, the display 214 may include a Bluetooth display 604, whichindicates to a user whether the charging station is paired with anexternal Bluetooth device and the signal strength of the pairing. Instill other embodiments, the charging station 600 includes alarm clockfunctionality and a clock display 606.

In such embodiments, the charging station 600 further includes a clockcontroller electrically coupled to the display 214, multi-functioncontrols 608 and 610, snooze/brightness switch 612, and an audiotransducer (not shown). As will be described in greater detail below,the clock controller is adapted to provide alarm clock functionality viathe display 214 and audio transducer, and to control the alarm clockfunctionality in response to activation of one or more of themulti-function controls 608 and 610 and the snooze/brightness switch612. The multi-function controls 608 and 610 may be referred tocollectively as an alarm control device.

In some embodiments, the clock controller may be a microprocessor,microcontroller, field programmable gate array (FPGA), digital signalprocessor (DSP), or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), orother suitable programmable device with associated memory, clock, andhardware interface circuits, as will be understood by a person of skillin the art.

The multi-function controls 608 and 610 are capacitive touch sensorswith the control 608 in the shape of a ring and the control 610 a roundbutton. In other embodiments, multi-function controls according to thedisclosure may be embodied in a single knob that may be rotated and/ordepressed. In some such embodiments, the knob may be located in a cavityin the charging station 600, where the knob's upper surface does notextend above the upper surface of the charging station 600. In stillother embodiments, multi-function controls according to the disclosuremay be embodied in a plurality of buttons (e.g., increase, decrease,enter).

The switch 612 is flush and built into the upper housing 614. The upperhousing 614 has a living hinge with an elastomer overmold, so that whena user presses the control 612, the elastomer flexes and the livinghinge moves to actuate a physical microswitch underneath.

In a first procedure, a current date and time of the charging station600 may be set or controlled. If the switch 612 is held for apredetermined amount of time (e.g., six seconds), the charging station600 enters a first phase of a date-setting mode. In this first phase,the user may operate the ring control 608 to set a desired year of thecurrent date, displayed in the clock display 606. Once the desired yearhas been set, the user operates the button control 610 to enter a secondphase of the date-setting mode. In this second phase, the user mayoperate the ring control 608 to set a desired month of the current date,also displayed in the clock display 606. Once the desired month has beenset, the user operates the button control 610 to enter a third phase ofthe date-setting mode. In this third phase, the user may operate thering control 608 to set a desired day of the month of the current date,displayed in the clock display 606.

Once the desired day of the month has been set, the user operates thebutton control 610 to enter a first phase of a time-setting mode,wherein the user may operate the ring control 608 to set a desiredcurrent hour, displayed in the clock display 606. Once the desired hourhas been set, the user operates the button control 610 to enter a secondphase of the time-setting mode, wherein the user may operate the ringcontrol 608 to set a desired current minutes, also displayed in theclock display 606. The user then operates the button control 610 toreturn to normal operation.

The clock controller of the charging station 600 may compare the currentmonth and day of the month to one or more preset combinations of monthand day of the month and, if a match is found, change the current time,as the charging station 600 switches into or out of daylight savingstime on the appropriate dates of the year.

In a second procedure, an alarm function of the charging station 600 maybe set or controlled. When an alarm function of the charging station 600is switched off, an alarm bell or other symbol is turned off in clockdisplay 606. The user may operate the button control 610 briefly toplace the charging station 600 into an alarm-setting mode. In this mode,the current setting of the alarm time is displayed as flashing digits inthe clock display 606. The user may then operate the ring control 608 toset a desired alarm time.

Once the desired alarm time is displayed in the clock display 606, theuser may operate the button control 610 to set (or arm) the alarmfunction and fix the current alarm time. If the user does not operatethe button control 610 within a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 5seconds) after operating the ring control 608 to set the desired alarmtime, the clock controller of the charging station 600 automaticallyfixes the current alarm time and arms the alarm function. In eithercase, when the alarm function is armed, the current alarm time isdisplayed as steady (non-flashing) digits in an alarm time displayportion of the clock display 606 and the alarm bell or other symbol isturned on in clock display 606.

While the alarm function is armed, two events may occur that affect thealarm function. In the first event, the user operates the button control610, which switches the alarm function off and turns off the alarm bellor other symbol in clock display 606. In the second event, the currenttime reaches the current alarm time, the alarm function triggers, andthe charging station 600 emits an alarm sound via the audio transducer.

Once the alarm has triggered, another two events may occur that affectthe alarm function. In the first event, the user may operate the buttoncontrol 610, which switches the alarm function off, turns off the alarmbell or other symbol in clock display 606, and turns off the alarmsound. In the second event, the user operates the snooze/brightnessswitch 612, which turns off the alarm sound. The charging station 600then waits for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., nine minutes)before again emitting the alarm sound via the audio transducer.

In a third procedure, a display brightness of the charging display 602,the Bluetooth display 604 (if present), and the clock display 606(collectively, displays 602-606) of the charging station 600 may becontrolled. When the displays 602-606 are at full brightness setting andthe user presses the snooze/brightness switch 612, the displays 602-606are changed to a medium brightness setting. When the displays 602-606are at the medium brightness setting and the user presses thesnooze/brightness switch 612, the displays 602-606 are changed to a dimbrightness setting. When the displays 602-606 are at the dim brightnesssetting and the user presses the snooze/brightness switch 612, thedisplays 602-606 are turned off.

Once the displays 602-606 are turned off, two events may occur thataffect the display brightness. In a first event, the user presses thesnooze/brightness switch 612 and the displays 602-606 are returned tofull brightness setting. In the second event, the alarm triggers and thedisplays 602-606 are returned to full brightness setting.

Because of the multitude of functions controlled using thesnooze/brightness switch 612, the snooze/brightness switch 612 may alsobe referred to as a multi-function control. In other embodiments, thecharging station 600 may have any number of brightness levels (otherthan off) more than or less than the three brightness levels describedabove. In still other embodiments, a charging station according to thedisclosure may include both the wirelessly connected speaker systemdescribed with reference to FIG. 5 and the alarm clock system describedwith reference to FIG. 6.

Although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplaryembodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A charging station, comprising: an alternatingcurrent (AC) outlet located in a top side of the charging station; a USBoutlet located in a second side of the charging station; a wirelesscharging circuit, configured to sense the presence of an electronicdevice placed in proximity to the top side of the charging station andwirelessly charge the electronic device; a fluid control chamber locatedwithin the charging station and beneath the AC outlet, the chambercomprising one or more walls extending up from a bottom side of thecharging station; and a drain aperture in the bottom side of thecharging station, the drain aperture surrounded by the one or morewalls, wherein a body of the AC outlet extends from the top side of thecharging station into the fluid control chamber and, when fluid isintroduced into the AC outlet, substantially all fluid exiting the ACoutlet is retained within the fluid control chamber and exits thecharging station via the drain aperture.
 2. The charging station ofclaim 1, wherein the wireless charging circuit is adapted to chargeusing the Qi wireless charging standard.
 3. The charging station ofclaim 1, wherein the wireless charging circuit is adapted to detect awireless charging standard used by the electronic device and towirelessly charge the electronic device using the detected standard. 4.The charging station of claim 3, wherein the charging station furthercomprises a display, and the charging station is adapted to indicate viathe display the wireless charging standard being used to charge theelectronic device.
 5. The charging station of claim 1, wherein the ACoutlet comprises a tamper-resistant outlet.
 6. The charging station ofclaim 1, wherein the charging station is adapted to sense a chargingpower requirement of a device electrically connected to the USB outlet,and to provide a preset amperage to the USB outlet based on the sensedcharging power requirement of the device.
 7. The charging station ofclaim 1, wherein the charging station further comprises a wirelessreceiver, electrically coupled to a speaker, wherein the wirelessreceiver is adapted to receive a wireless signal from an external audiosource and output a corresponding audio signal via the speaker.
 8. Thecharging station of claim 7, wherein the wireless receiver is aBluetooth-compatible receiver.
 9. The charging station of claim 7,wherein the charging station further comprises a display, and thecharging station is adapted to indicate via the display one or both ofwhether the wireless receiver is in wireless communication with theexternal audio source and, if so, a signal strength of the wirelesscommunication signal.
 10. The charging station of claim 1, wherein thecharging station further comprises: a clock controller electricallycoupled to a display; a plurality of multi-function controls; and anaudio transducer, wherein the clock controller is adapted to providealarm clock functionality via the display and audio transducer, and tocontrol the alarm clock functionality in response to activation of oneor more of the multi-function controls.
 11. The charging station ofclaim 10, wherein the multi-function controls are capacitive touchsensors in the shape of a ring and a button.
 12. The charging station ofclaim 10, wherein the charging station further comprises a wirelessreceiver, electrically coupled to a speaker, wherein the wirelessreceiver is adapted to receive a wireless signal from an external audiosource and output a corresponding audio signal via the speaker.